Images And Words

Come and join me strolling through the sandcastle stories that I have created with words, with pen and brush, with computer software and with the camera, and most of all, how I have applied my visual imagination.

Sandcastle

My World Of Reality And Fantasy

This is a portfolio site of my lifelong joy in the world of the imagination, it is also a site to show where I live and what I do now, a site where I can tell my stories and let you read my biography. I like to share my world with you my dear visitor. So kick off your shoes and get ready for a sensual experience. The frame work of this site that I created was meant to be calm and gentle, restful, so nothing is distracting from the actual content.

Why Sandcastle Stories?

The other day, when I was creating some art work, a thought occured to me: just like children get caught up in creative pursuits, I too get so deeply involved that I forget the world around me, only the world in my mind is where I am then.

My cheeks are flushed and I sit for hours without stepping back to reality. I love being in my world just like the children on the beach building a sandcastle are. They spend hours and hours building their dream castle, never mind that the waves will eventually flatten their work and smooth out the sand again for some new castles to be build. It is the act of creating where the fun lies, where the satisfaction thrives—these children know it.

And because I had these thoughts, the name for this site—Sandcastle Stories—is the perfect reflection of what I have been doing all my life. Ever building dreams and enjoying every moment, then the big waves of reality wash over the dreams and new ones have to be seeded and grow into my joy again.

I am a visual person, colors, shapes and light are my language. Now and then I use words as well.

Imaginary fragile flower

Discovering

In these pages, looking at my work, you will hopefully find the joy that I have found creating all of these different things. I have kept the journey casual, a barefoot style, not too refined, but well thought out and consistent. The style grew over the years in tandem with my understanding of what is important to me.

I live on Anna Maria Island off the Gulf coast of Florida with my husband and off and on with some cats. We love the cottage style that lends itself to living here by the beach. No fuss, tolerance of sand being tracked into the house, dinged up edges, furniture that is naturally worn, nothing fake and pretentiously shiny. Honesty in all things that we do in life, that includes food, relationships, the way we dress, how we plant our garden. We have embraced a perfect "sense of place" life, a natural way to live unencumbered by traditions or expectations by others.

You will detect this in the coming pages and might even get some inspiration or confirmation of how you see the world. I try to tell stories with all this work, the words, the art, the digital art, the photos.

I have limited my work now to be very regional, but since the fundamental view I have on life is all encompassing, independent of the place, so is this work in its deeper character. Beauty and interesting things, whimsical fun and serious discoveries can be found in any place, the artist in me finds corners that many people never see. I like to show those things to you.

Image of a rustic entry door

This site is a work in progress. I will add to it as I develop new things, as I get through my archives to present to you more of my previous works. For now the foundation is there and should give you a good idea of where I am going to go with it. Just check in now and then to see if you find additions. The site will never be finished in the sense of a single work, it is just like life, ever evolving.

So, I invite you to take a step into the castle of my mind. Remember old books? I love books that show care, books that have been designed to enhance the reading experience. Little additions of illustrations or small embellishments to support a story. In the pages of this site I have tried to emulate this feeling I have always had reading these kinds of books. I hope to give you some interesting hours to spend in my world. Click on any of the links below to take you where you would like to go now — Ulrike

Sandcastle Stories logo